


Winter’s tale – The eternal winter and the odd journey of the Great Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri Katsuki

by Satsuki_Yatohji



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Epic, Fluff, Humor, Love, M/M, Magic, Romance, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2018-12-21 16:39:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11948325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satsuki_Yatohji/pseuds/Satsuki_Yatohji
Summary: An epic tale about how the Great sorcerer Viktor Nikiforov and the not-so-great sorcerer Yuuri Katsuki start an adventure to find themselves and find the love of their lives while trying to save the spring.





	1. ‘In which Yuuri faces several unexpected situations’

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like this journey! I love epic fantasy so I tried to introduce a little piece of several fantastical works on this fic together with a good fluff dosis (probably sex will come later lol UXD). Is my first time writing a fic and English is not my mother tongue but I tried my best with this story. Enjoy =)

 

It was the big day. Yuuri woke up with his heart fluttering fast. His little valley was celebrating the main annual event: the spring blooming. It is said on ancient manuscripts that the spring buds appear earlier in this region due to the climate benevolence, so it was a tradition to make a festival to welcome the new season with the Royal Winter sorcerer. But, this year was really special because the death of the previous Winter wise leaded into his successor, the Great sorcerer Viktor Nikiforov. So he was honour guest to start the blooming ceremony that day.

Yuuri has been training to become a sorcerer since he saw a young Viktor Nikiforov winning the National Magical contest at the early age of 15. That day he was wonderful, long silver hair dancing full of grace accompanying the rhythm of his staff, creating the most beautiful petal rain that has ever been done. Right after a leaves storm happened, followed by a chorus of whistling branches and finally the calm with a soft wind of jumping dandelions. The astonished public started to acclaim him as a Forest God, his control over the natural elements was impressive for someone of his age. At that point he became a living legend as a sorcerer and the surprising demonstrations of his magic went further and further. Every single man, and woman, and children on that continent know who Viktor Nikiforov is. And Yuuri knows better than anyone.

He tried to follow Viktor’s steps joining the sorcering school and applying as many contests as possible to see his idol. At the beginning it was fun but he started to lost confidence on himself when he burned by accident the beard of the eldest member of the jury. Yes, precision was not his strength but people often said that he was good with the composition and the creative part. Anyway he was always scoring far from Viktor and never reached enough courage to try to speak with him. He doesn’t want to read the word ‘mediocre’ on Viktor’s eyes if he tries to start a conversation. The stress and his mental weakness always made him lose a big bunch of points during the performances.

 But that was not the point today, he decided not lo loose his chance to see Viktor’s spring dance, it really sounds promising. Crowds of curious people started to overflow the main square and Yuuri started to look anxiously for the best spot. He was supposed to go with Phichit, his roommate, but he was late looking for ingredients for new potions and Yuuri was too anxious to wait, so he finally decided to go ahead alone.

\- “Ah! The fountain could be a good place”

As soon as Yuuri jumped to the fountain, strong cheerings started to sound around the plaza entrance. Viktor Nikiforov was calmly walking, little snowflakes jumping around him with each step, giving his hand to the fans and offering brilliant smiles everywhere. His grey cloak was wonderful, full of brilliant silver embroidery with a soft and white fur trim demarcating the visible part of his doublet. The entire outfit was spectacular, or maybe is just that it fits perfectly his tall and slim silhouette.  In fact, all his outfit was a beautiful representation of the winter that they are going to see off soon. All except his gold staff that honours him as one of the four Great Royal mages. It was undoubtedly a majestic weapon, all decorated with delicate engraved motifs, most of them related with ancient magic. On the top, a precious gem emulating an ice crystal crowned the stick.

Yuuri was paying attention to each tiny detail; he knows that training hard will never provide him that elegant presence, that’s something that Viktor has from birth. In fact, his walking through the avenue was more magical than any spell that Yuuri can remember. Suddenly the Great sorcerer stopped like if he can feel some strange presence, seconds later he turned his gaze up until he found Yuuri and right after a charming smile appeared on his lips. Yuuri was startled, he realized how blushed were his cheeks and for a moment thought that he will faint suddenly. Dying for a neck rupture due to falling inside the fountain could be even more ridiculous than the burned beard incident. What would his family say? Will his friends attend to the funeral? And the more important thing…what would Viktor Nikiforov do? Probably he would run to assist him, trying to reanimate his death body with beautiful and pure crystal tears falling from those mesmerizing blue eyes. A strong jab on his heart brought him back to the reality. He was not falling from the fountain but he felt extremely dazed. Viktor was still there looking at him, and beautiful thoughts about the Royal sorcerer continue hammering intensely Yuuri’s head. He realized that something was wrong, his heart was trying to scape from his body.

\- “It’s possible that The Great Nikiforov is attempting to steal my heart? Why? He’s a white sorcerer…in fact he’s a Royal sorcerer! And what’s more… why he would like MY heart? I’m not so young, or brave, or… well I’m pure but… AHHHH, this hurts a lot… what the Wise Celestino said about heart robbering? If you are not strong to face your enemy just break the eye contact and run!”

It was like a piece of cake when he was listening that lesson but in the practical field it was a mess. First of all, Viktor’s gaze and smile were charming enough to keep Yuuri on place for centuries, he tried to look away but it was impossible. He was desperate, the milliseconds seemed ages for him and the time for saving his heart was running off. But he had a stroke of luck when a drunk assistant crashed with Viktor, breaking the spell. Yuuri felt released from the curse, asserting his suspicions regarding that what happened before was an attempt to steal his heart. But there was no time to think about it, he took advantage of the general confusion created by the inebriated man and ran away headed to the forests.

\- “Why Viktor Nikiforov would do something like that? Why he would use dark magic? Maybe… maybe it was an impostor? I’m sure he will NEVER hurt someone, he cannot, he… he’s …he’s… all what I wanted to be”

The tears started to run on his cheeks as soon as he came into the forest, his breathing started to be heavy and stunted. He was scared and disappointed, so he decided to stop, sit near a tree and cry. His heart was still inside his chest but the pain didn’t disappear; now it was even worse than before because now it was totally broken. Little by little his mind started to be clearer but he had lost the sense of time, he was not able to know exactly how much time passed since he started to run, and the density of the trees didn’t help to know which time it was. He didn’t realized before but a soft flowering fragrance was in the atmosphere for a while. Yuuri raised his head to check if he was below a blooming orange tree when he understood that the pleasant smell came from Viktor Nikiforov.

\- “Yuuri…” - Viktor was in front of him with a magnificent presence

\- “WHAT? Do… do you know my name?” – Yuuri blushed. How long was he watching him crying like a baby?

\- “Sure! You are Yuuri Katsuki, a sorcerer of level 4 with good stamina and beautiful elemental composition. And you was the one burning the Wise Yakov’s beard on the North Mountain competition. He was my mentor, you know? It was so fun (^♡^)”

\- “Yes, yes, hehe…” - Yuuri was about to laugh almost death of embarrassment when he remembered what had happened before- “STOP, go back, go back and don’t look at me!” – he quickly took a branch from the ground – “Now I have a wand and I know how to use it, and I will not doubt to do it if I need to defend myself” – He tried not to shake too much, both of them know what a huge disaster he could cause using a branch as a wand.

\- “But Yuuri…” – Viktor said with a really sad face, like if he was about to cry.

\- “You tried to steal my heart, that’s black magic! It’s forbidden!!!”

\- “I’m… I’m sorry…it was not exactly like that and… and I know I hurt you… you… you feel betrayed” – Viktor said while closing a bit his eyes.

\- “Are you trying to read my mind???” – Yuuri knitted his brows and held the branch stronger on the same time that his cheeks turned red.

\- “I can only see beautiful things inside you, don’t be ashamed” – Viktor smiled with a hint of melancholy.

\- “That’s not the point! Stop teasing me! First you tried to take my heart and now you want to read my mind, I cannot trust you anymore!” –Yuuri was almost crying, this time of frustration.

\- “Everything has an explanation, but I need you to…”

Viktor was not able to finish his sentence, a big thunder impacted on the ground followed by a dense fog. Both of them looked around confused, Viktor gripped is staff and Yuuri prayed for not needing to use his improvised wand. The forest got darker and the trees started to groan. A mysterious silhouette appeared from the fog.

\- “Finally I found you, Nikiforov”

A tall man with a black cloak decorated with purple fur trims, matching his odd makeup, started to approach to them. He beared a long cane with a dark blue stone on the top. Yuuri thought that because of his appearance, he looked to be native from the septentrional part of the continent, but he never saw him taking part on any magical contest. Viktor took a step forward.

\- “Ahhh Popovich long time no see you! How is your family? \\(*^♡^*)/ “

\- “You… you know him?” – Things started to be awkward for Yuuri.

\- “Yes, Yakov was also his master, we were on the same freezed sorcering school, he’s an old friend  (* ^ ω ^)”

\- “We are not friends!!! \ (`Д´＃)”

Popovich, whoever he was, didn’t seem happy at all. Yuuri was really confused by the situation and he started to wonder if all the northern people were so passionate.

\- “But you came to see my blooming ceremony (つ≧♡≦)つ”

\- “NO, I came to kick your ass. Because of you, Anya broke up with me, you stole her heart! Give it back to her!!! (`皿´＃)”

\- “It’s true that I took a bit of her heart essence, but her heart is still on her chest and… I don’t really think she left you because of that. You are too possessive and that new guy has a better castle than yours ╮(︶♡︶)╭ "

The black wizard became red of rage, his silhouette started to be bigger and bigger and the fog was denser than before. Yuuri held the branch stronger and cursed himself for not bringing his staff with him, he thought that it was too big to put it inside the crowd.

\- “Vik…Viktor… maybe an apologize could be a good idea now?”

\- “ Why?”

\- “Because I think he will explode soon”

Weirdly, Viktor remained calm and smiling while Yuuri felt more and more anxious, the wind started to be violent.

\- “Don’t worry, I will be ok. After all, I deserve this and more, I hurt many people including you” – Viktor met Yuuri’s eyes with his – “And now you should hurry!” – Viktor tried to push Yuuri out, but he found that he was holding his hand

-  “ No! I will not leave you”

Popovich was whispering unintelligible words for a while, it sounded like some really ancient language to Yuuri.  His eyes were completely yellow before articulating the last spell. Viktor didn’t have time to react and finally a big thunder fall over both of them. Yuuri sensed a kind of electric shock running over his body but when he opened his eyes the fog was almost over and there was no track of the crazy wizard. He was so relieved.

\- “Viktor, he’s gone!”

But there was no answer. Yuuri looked at the end of his hand and Viktor was not there. His clothes and his staff were lying on the ground but he was not there. Yuuri was able to hear the strong beating of his heart hurting on his ears, but a bark woke up him from his dullest thoughts. A big, full of lashes, softy, cute and beautiful poodle emerged from inside Viktor’s cloak. Yuuri blinked twice gazing at the dog.

\- “It’s not possible…Viktor?”

\- “Woof woof!”

 


	2. In which Yuuri changed his appearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure continues! Yuuri ask help for a friend, some clues about what's going on are revealed. Please continue reading to know what happened to our novel sorcerer Yuuri and his new doggy friend. Tricks, magic and love!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my holidays and soon I will have some new professional challenges so I will not be able to update as much as I would like but I will try my best to bring you the next chapters! Again sorry if my english is not good enough and thank you so much for following this story =).  
> Thank you so much to @apodoll_bjd for the fanart <3!

\- “Woof woof!”

Yes, he was barking, the Great sorcerer Nikiforov now was a super huggable poodle. A poodle that cannot be quiet, he was running around smelling every single tree, moving his tail boldly and making funny noises with his nose. At the beginning, Yuuri tried to stop him but it was impossible, that dog was fast. He was physically and mentally exhausted because all the events, so he decided to give up and sit down on the floor to think about what to do next. He wasn't able to leave all the Viktor belongings abandoned in the forest, especially the gold royal staff, that was a really powerful weapon. Yuuri needed to avoid the staff to be used with wicked purposes. But there was a problem, all the stuff was bulky and clearly identifiable as Viktor’s, that could cause serious troubles and questions to Yuuri. He supposed that at that time everybody was probably looking for the honour guest around the town. Anyway, his options where really short, he wasn't able to shrink all the belongings, they were a lot and applying magic to the staff wasn’t a good idea. Also, last time he used the miniaturization spell it was so effective that he made disappear his conjuration book. He had a strong headache and cannot think clearly but finally decided to take his cloak and enlarge it to use it as a bundle to carry everything, it will be huge but no one will make him uncomfortable questions… except Phichit, but that will be a problem for the future Yuuri.  
He woke up and removed his cloak, opening it out on the ground carefully. For a second he was tempted to take the gold staff to make the spell but the idea of creating a hideous walking aggressive cloak scared him. He discarded the use of a branch as a wand because they focus too much the energy on one point and he loved that cloak too much to burn it. He sighed deeply and extended his hands over the cloak.

\- “Giganticous!” – a soft light came out from Yuuri’s hands and a mild wind made the cloak to move slightly. It was done successfully. Yuuri smiled.

He squatted down to prepare the bundle and soon after the dog came quickly to throw him to the floor and lick his face.

\- “Ahhh, stop stop! We don’t have time to play Vik…Vik…Vikchan, maybe?” – calling him Viktor just like that wasn’t a good idea, Vikchan sounded familiar but not so obvious – “we need to pick up all this mess and… draw up a plan, but within a better place. You must be a good dog because we should find a way to recover your human form as soon as possible”

Maybe Vikchan understood or maybe he was tired of Yuuri’s speech, but he jumped away and returned to his crazy exploration activity. Yuuri knew that this would be a hard and troublesome task, so he decided to pack quickly and prayed for the dog to follow him. Once all was ready, he whistled to catch the attention of Vikchan.

\- “Shall we go?”

The dog followed Yuuri with happy little jumps and moving his tail rhytmically. If he was ever asked to choose the happiest dog on earth it would be that poodle for sure. Yuuri looked at him while walking back to the city trying to find any trace of Viktor on the animal, but he didn’t know personally the sorcerer too much so he was not sure if him was usually so carefree. He also wasn’t sure if Vikchan was conscious about who he was and if he remembered his past, or if he just started a new life as a dog.  
During their walk a cold wind started to blow, Yuuri regretted about using his cloak as bag instead of using it to warm himself. White clouds began to group together.

\- “Is it going to snow? It’s unlikely at this time of the year…”

He sped up his steps, the weather getting worse by the minute. When they left behind the woods Yuuri felt relief, it was just early afternoon, only some hours have passed. What frightened him was that he found the city sank into the chaos. There were people running here and there, others screaming, the guards fighting with a group of angry people… he didn’t manage to understand what was really going on, but he was sure that it was related with Viktor’s vanishing. Yuuri decided to go home by an alley instead the main road to avoid conflicts. He lived on a bakery’s loft with Phichit. It was well situated; old but tough, with big windows that allowed the light to illuminate the rooms easily, the roof was decorated with green tiles. It was a nice place with nice owners, a young couple with triplet girls. Yuuri loved the smell of fresh-baked bread in the morning and was always thinking about the new pastries he would try for the next breakfast. Miss Nishigori was always assisting their customers with a beautiful smile, it was the kind of girl that Yuuri could had fallen in love under other circumstances.

He arrived exhausted to the side entrance of the house, his load was heavy, but the dog remained with his cheerful mood. Yuuri opened the little door that drove directly to the loft stairs without entering into the bakery. Both of them climbed the stairs, on the landing there was a hamster running around, Phichit was at home. Yuuri took the little rodent to avoid a disgusting meeting with Vikchan and opened the door.

\- “Phichit, you must be careful with your little friends or one day you will lose one”

Their room was quite big, the left part was Yuuri’s bedroom and the right one was the part of Phichit, in the middle there was a table to have the lunch. Yuuri had a bed, a desk full of magic treatises, a closet and a trunk; while Phichit was using most of his space to store tons of different flasks. Some of them were big, other really tiny, from yellow to pink passing by blue, his walls were a beautiful rainbow collage. When he reached the basic magical degree decided to become alchemist instead of sorcerer, he always said that in that way he can help and make people happy for real, magic was for illusionists. He was trying to produce his own amorous philtre with an improved formula, but by the moment the results were not the ones expected. The previous version made one of his hamsters to growth until breaking the loft roof.

\- “Ahhhhhh Yuuri, Yuuri, Yuuri!!! You are back! I was looking for you all the morning, where were you? Are you aware of the disaster?” – Phichit was looking through the window but leapt quickly as soon as Yuuri get into the room.

\- “Well…I don’t know how to start” – Yuuri left the improvised bag on the floor and the dog ran into the room to make the pertinent research.

\- “And that dog? What’s inside that sack? Is that your cloak?”

Phichit was also involved in the writing of the village public proclamation; that’s why he had a strong thirst for knowledge, always shooting questions about social life in the town. Yuuri left the little hamster on his friend’s shoulder and right after took a seat on a chair, tired and heavy. He knows that the full explanation of the events would take a while.

\- “I will prepare an infusion, we have cookies!” – Phichit said attentive- “But you can start, I was worried about you and now I’m even more, look at your face!”

\- “It’s a long story…” – Yuuri sighed, Vikchan continued smelling all the corners of the room.

\- “Those are my favourites”- brilliant sparkles lit on Phichit's eyes.

\- “First tell me what happened on the town after the disappearance of Viktor Nikiforov”

\- “Oh yes! Don't you know? I arrived to the square and it was already full, I was not able to find you. Viktor was already there, but a drunken man approached him and other people tried to stop the bombed one. He started to attack everyone crazily with a broken bottle and when I looked again Viktor was not there anymore. The guardians attempted to calm down the crowd but they were fighting between them so insanely that it was impossible. It took them a while to realize that Viktor disappeared and they panicked after that. Celestino said that the spring will never come if the ritual is not completed and I think now it is cooler… the crops will freeze and you can imagine the rest of the consequences, so… now we are immersed into the absolute chaos. That’s the summary”

Phichit served a couple of infusion cups and took a seat, Yuuri's face became pallid and his hands shook.

\- “Do I…I stole the spring??? Oh no I’m a villain, it’s all my fault!” – Yuuri headbutted the table.

\- “What are you talking about?” – Phichit opened widely his eyes and took a sip of the cup.

\- “I was in the central fountain, waiting for Viktor's entrance, and something weird happened, he stopped and stared at me”

\- “Are you sure that you didn’t inhale any suspicious herb from my pantry right?”

\- “Of course NOT! “

\- “Ok ok, I just wanted to be sure, continue”

\- “Well, he was staring at me when I was bombarded with sweet thoughts about him”

\- “That happens to you often”

\- “Could you please shut up and let me finish this??”

\- “Oh sorry, sure” – Phichit said biting a cookie

\- “I felt a strong prick on my chest, definitely it was a spell to steal my heart”

\- “That’s not possible; he already stole it like… 12 years ago?”

\- “Phichit!” – Yuuri blushed strongly- “this is serious, he was using real dark magic on me!”

\- “But why?”

\- “I don’t know… I was scared, it was not easy to escape from the spell, the drunken man helped to cut the visual contact and I ran to the forest” – he passed his hands over his face – “after that, he found me and we started a non-sense speech”

\- “Ohh ohh! You finally talked with him, congratulations Yuuri!!!”

\- “Yeah well, I suppose? It wasn't the kind of conversation I expected and I was more disappointed than happy but…”

\- “But tell me! How is he?”

\- “He… he…” – Yuuri found a hundred of embarrassing adjectives on his mind that will delight Phichit – “he has a beautiful accent”

\- “A beautiful accent? That’s all??”

\- “Yes, you know, that slight rough northern accent”

\- “Ahhhh Yuuri, you get on my nerves!”

\- “Why?”

\- “You finally are face to face with the Great Viktor Awesome Nikiforov and you only think that his accent is cute?”

\- “I told you I was disappointed with what he did, and many things happened after! A crazy purple sorcerer came to blame him”

\- “Really? about what?”

\- “About trying to stole the heart of his ex-girlfriend or something like that, it was weird”

\- “Oh my… this story is becoming really interesting”

\- “Yes, so interesting that after their argument the other guy launched a curse over Viktor and now is that dog of there”

Phichit woke up like an arrow to inspect the poodle that now was lying on Yuuri’s bed. He closed halfway his eyes trying to analyse the situation.

\- “I don’t know… I remember Viktor taller, greyer and less curly, are you sure?”

\- “Yes…I mean, Viktor disappeared and inside his cloak was this dog. I took all his belongings and now we are here, what else could have happened?”

\- “I don’t know but we must tell Celestino”

\- “NO! not a single word to Celesino pleaaaaseee”- Yuuri begged- “I thought that maybe you can make a potion to recover his original form and… POW! All the problems solved in one shot”- Yuuri known that it was not a good idea but he was quite desperate at that point

\- “Mmm, it may work… let me check!”

Phichit went to his desk and took a huge book; he leafed through it moving his eyes quickly between the lines.

\- “Ah! I found it! Here it is” – He showed the recipe to Yuuri – “The transfiguration potion… the list of ingredients is huge. Frog brains, a couple of mandrake roots, a mermaid’s scale, a drop of blood of a virgin (I count with you for this one Yuuri)”

\- “Hey!” – Yuuri protested

\- “Leech juice, pearl dust, a moon stone, horse hair, a dragon teeth and blah blah blah” – Phichit sighed and closed the book- “ok, I will go to the magical herbalist shop to see if I can find all that I miss on this list, anyway… it doesn’t seem to be easy”

\- “I can imagine… but really, thank you so much for your effort. I promise that if it doesn’t work I will go to see Celestino”

\- “Ok ok, in fact I find all this crazy story exciting!” – Phichit chuckled while taking his green cloak and the book, walking through the door- “See you!”

Once the room was empty, Yuuri drank a last sip of his cup and took a cookie. He was exhausted but anxious at the same time, his life usually was more calm and routinely than this and he felt that his head was about to explode soon. He sat on his bed, resting his back against the wall and with a big temptation to cuddle the dog. He looked soft and warm and touching him would be comforting, but he was still Viktor Nikiforov and Yuuri didn’t want to be involved in an embarrassing situation. He could hear Viktor and Phichit pestering him for that. The sun was almost gone, dusk was approaching and golden sparkles came across the window. On the streets things were more calm now, the cold pushed people to come back home. Yuuri realized that his eyes were unwillingly closing when an intense brightness dazzled him.

\- “Yuu~ri ! <3 “

Viktor was there, naked, seated on the bed, smiling, his exposed pallid skin seemed to be soft and highlighted the intense blue of his eyes. The sunset light made him look even more beautiful if possible. Yuuri noticed that his blood started to boil with a mix of happiness, embarrassment, surprise and anger.

\- “But…but”

\- “It was a time-depending curse”

\- “So… you are ok now?” – Yuuri tried to focus keeping his look into Viktor's face.

\- “No, I’m still cursed. But at least this gives me some time to explain some things to you”

\- “You need to complete the spring ritual, people is scared!”

\- “The equinox is over, I don’t think I can do it now”

\- “Yes, you can! You are the best Winter sorcerer the world has ever meet, if you can’t nobody can!” – Yuuri blamed

\- “No, I’m not! You know nothing about me!” – Viktor was visibly irritated.

Yuuri was stunned, he thought that he knew all about Viktor, he was his idol, he followed his career, he fully read his interviews, he knew his favourite dish, his preferred spell, when was his first time doing a major sorcery… but was that the real Viktor? He never thought about it. He never thought that was possible that Viktor also had fears, that he could have been anxious or sad sometimes, that maybe he had an unrequited love in the past or that maybe he had lost someone important, things that happen to normal people. For the very first time, he saw Viktor as the human man he was. Yuuri felt so miserable, how could he have been so stupid? He was about to cry but he was too tired to try it. His arms were heavy and his head started to spin. His last memory was the voice of Viktor calling him, but it sounded too far.

\- “I was afraid that something like this happened, I think that your last year eros demonstration amazed me more than I expected”- Viktor sighed deeply- “See you at dawn my little piglet”

Viktor took a small pig from between Yuuri’s clothes and kissed softly his forehead. The sunset was over and the darkness was hidding the town.


	3. In which Yuuri receives a gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure continues! Yuuri starts to realize about who is the true Viktor while they travel to the North.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all again!!! Thank you so much for reading this new chapter. You will see that there's a point on the chapter where several characters are speaking between them. I added the first letter of their name between brackets to clarify who is speaking.  
> Also I want to share with you the awesome fan art that @apodoll_bjd did about this fic. Thank you so much!!!! <3
> 
>  
> 
>  
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>  

Yuuri woke up with clouds on his mind. Far away someone was calling him, gently.

  
\- “Yuuri, welcome back! <3”

  
\- “Uh?” – his head was still shaking.

  
\- “Good morning! \\(*^♡^*)/”

  
\- “Vik…viktor?”

  
\- “Yes! (≧♡≦)/ “

  
\- “What…what happened? Where are we?”

  
\- “Sadly, you are also affected by the curse” – Viktor put a blanket softly over Yuuri’s naked shoulders – “Don’t catch a cold, please”

  
\- “WHAT?” – Yuuri blushed strongly and closed the blanket around him as much as possible. He was naked on the same bed that his idol, similar to the situation that happened last day but in a different room.

  
\- “You have been a sweet piglet all the night”

  
\- “That’s not possible!!!”

  
Yuuri was about to faint, he was not able to remember anything; well… maybe he had some blurred pictures of the past night. He could see Viktor smiling at him while he was on his arms, he remembered a long track full of delicious berries, but nothing else really specific.

  
\- “I’m sorry Yuuri, my time is over”

  
Viktor looked down and held Yuuri’s hand tightly before starting to shine at the same time that the earliest brightness of the sun came into the room. Yuuri tried to keep his hand but right away the brunette poodle appeared on the bed. Yuuri sighed deeply, the situation started to annoy him. The animal was visibly dispirited, nothing to do with that first cheerful and restless dog.

  
\- “I suppose you are tired, right? I don’t know where we are but seems that is far from the valley.”

  
Yuuri looked through the window, they were in the middle of nowhere. He was only able to see a huge meadow demarcated by a river. The grass was slightly frozen, that was a cold morning. Little buds of different colours where leaning out but probably they would never bloom. Yuuri felt that he was not prepared to face the big bunch of current problems. An eternal winter, a half-day-double curse, a dog with apathy and a big hole of hungry on his stomach. Too much for an average sorcerer. He didn’t know how to start. The room was completely unknown to him. It was small, with a modest decoration. There were only a bed, a closet and a little table with a chair. Yuuri was about to put Viktor’s clothes to cover himself and look around while someone knocked the door.

  
\- “Y…yes?” – his heart missed a beat.

  
\- “Excuse me…” – a boy with chestnut hair showed his face through the door – “you must be Yuuri.”

  
\- “Yes, I am…” – he wound more a more inside the blanket.

  
\- “Great! My name is Leo, please make yourself at home”- he had a sweet smile that made Yuuri feel comfortable – “Viktor left your personal stuff inside that box” – Leo said pointing with the finger towards a tiny wood box that was on the table.

  
\- “Oh, thank you!”- he was relieved, it would be great to have clothes again.

  
\- “When you are done please come down, we are preparing the breakfast”

  
Those words sounded like the most beautiful music ever, he was really hungry and everybody knows that is easier to think with a full stomach. When he was alone, Yuuri ran to the table to check the little box. It was like a small trunk, with a rich engraved decorating the wood. Again, a piece of art with old runes and precious snowflakes, Viktor’s signature without doubt. That made Yuuri smile; he used a magical box in the past during his training, but it was not the one from Viktor Nikiforov. Opening a sorcerer magical box was like reading a teenager’s secret diary. They were rare objects and quite private. The touch of the wood was soft while he went across all the fine details with his fingers. He tapped excited three times the lid of the box and after recited:

  
\- “ _Pluribus aperire secreta Nikiforov. Aperi te ipsum!_ ”

  
The box rustled softly, the lid was opening when a letter was spitted out from the inside, crashing with Yuuri’s forehead.

  
\- “Auch!”- Yuuri took the letter- “there’s nothing else?” – said looking into the box.

  
‘For Yuuri’. The envelope was silver, with a sealing wax making a beautiful snowflake; the handwriting was neat and elegant. Viktor again. It started to be a bit exasperating, like opening an endless matrioshka. Yuuri unwrapped with care the envelope, waiting for a new nasty surprise but this time all was normal, just a paper inside.

  
‘Dear Yuuri,  
if you are reading this letter means that you have been able to open my magic box, congratulations! But of course, it wouldn’t be possible to have access to all my personal things so easily. This box has been widely compartmentalized and each compartment has its own password. If you want to get back your stuff kiss sweetly the box…’

  
\- “WHAT???”- Yuuri’s cheeks turned red – “That’s a joke right?” – Yuuri continued reading.

  
‘If you want to get back your stuff kiss sweetly the box, you don’t need to say anything else. If you want to use the box to carry my things during the morning, kiss it again and say _Viktor servat cor tuum_. That will make your trip easier.’

  
\- “No! it will make it more embarrassing!”- thought Yuuri.

  
‘About all what happened, I know that you deserve an explanation but the curse prevents me to reveal which are my suspects about it. Curses are a bit annoying you know? The only thing that I can tell you is that if you are also affected by the hex is because we have a bond. I’m really sorry to have involved you on this big mess. I have been so selfish. But don’t worry, I have a plan: we are travelling to the North. Now we are on a friends’ home, they will help us to cross the main river direction to Helvetia. There, another friend of mine will be waiting for us. We will bring back the spring, we will break the curse and we will find my heart! We were born to make history, Yuuri!

Sincerely yours,  
Viktor Nikiforov

P.S.: let the dog rest for a while, I was all the night walking with a cute sleeping pig.  
P.S.2.: don’t worry about your friend Phichit, I explained him a bit what’s happening, his potion was disastrous. He said I have a beautiful northern accent! (*^♡^*).  
P.S.3.: when we finish this adventure I promise to buy you a new cloak so we can burn that hideous one you have “

Yuuri left the letter fall into his feet. Kiss a box? Find a heart? That’s new!!! Cross a river? The North? That was too far! And… what was wrong with his cloak? He also wanted to kill Phichit. Again his head was spinning, Viktor was really troublesome and he was too hungry to think about the big list of tasks he would need to take care. So he started with the obvious one: kissing the box. Yuuri breathed deeply and took carefully the little trunk. He blushed again, it was unavoidable to think about Viktor in that situation. Yuuri kissed the lid of the box and moved aside quickly. A bunch of clothes appeared, together with Yuuri glasses’s and staff, much simpler than Viktor’s one. Also he got a package that said ‘In case you are cold’. Yuuri broke the paper anxiously. It was a gift from Viktor; inside it was a grey pullover. He put it on right after his underwear. It was oversized and had a subtle flower fragrance but it was warm and soft, it made him to feel good.

  
\- “Thank you!” – Yuuri said looking to the dog that was placidly sleeping.

  
He finished to dress up and went downstairs to take the promised breakfast. Whenever he was going down the smell of fresh pancakes and sweet milk was more and more intense. Yuuri was able to hear his stomach growling. Down, inside de kitchen two boys were setting the table, one of them was already unknown to him.

  
\- “Hey Yuuri, please take a seat” – Leo said – “I will introduce you. Yuuri, he is Guang Hong”

  
\- “Nice to meet you, Yuuri” – Guang Hong said with a sweet smile on his face. His freckles and his short stature make him look younger.

  
\- “Nice to meet you, and thank you so much for hosting me”

  
Yuuri took a seat, the hot milk with honey was already served and a big bunch of delicious pancakes with homemade jam were waiting for him.

  
\- “Viktor’s friends are our friends” (L)

  
\- “Do you know Viktor for a long time?”

  
\- “Well…he saved me just a couple of years ago” (G)

  
\- “Guang Hong belongs to a small tribe with a really ancient magical gift” (L)

  
\- “Really? Which one?”- Yuuri asked while drinking his cup.

  
\- “We…we can extract and concentrate the energy from the natural elements like trees, rocks, the air… to create other types of energy or magical objects. It’s something really coveted and a wicked sorcerer kidnap all of us to explode our magic” (G)

  
Yuuri saw how Leo caressed Guang hong hands, no words were needed for him to understand which kind of relationship they had. Something stirred inside him, he felt again the flower fragrance of Viktor’s jumper and remembered when he held his hand in the morning. Yuuri wondered if holding hands with a lover would feel similar or if it would be even better.

  
\- “When I went to visit Guang Hong and realized that all the villagers disappeared I ran to the nearest city to ask for help, but the authorities didn’t want to take part. That sorcerer was really powerful and nobody cared about a little and lost tribe. Then by chance I found Viktor and he accepted quickly to go to free them” (L)

  
\- “It was amazing!!! His magic is the most beautiful and powerful one I’ve ever seen” (G)

  
\- “Yes, it’s just wonderful” – Yuuri smiled, he knew it really well.

  
\- “And do you know Viktor for a long time?” (G)

  
\- “Well, not exactly… personally I know him due to the curse, so…for one day and a half more or less. But I have followed his career for years” – Yuuri muttered ashamed.

  
\- “Don’t worry, he will break it, he’s one of the best magicians of our era” (L)

  
Yuuri understood for the very first time the pressure of being Viktor Nikiforov. It has nothing to do with reaching a good score during performances or about magical skills, is more about being a superhero for everybody and in every situation. To be kind, polite, attentive, strong, elegant and in conclusion to be perfect 24/7. Nobody has bothered (bothered or had bothered) to meet the real Viktor, the childish one, the one that sometimes is a bit selfish, the one that is scared, angry or sad, but also the one that sincerely worries about if you could catch a cold in the morning. He figured out how lonely Viktor was.

  
\- “Yes, we will succeed together, I will make my best too”

  
\- “Sure! He told us that the plan is to arrive to Helvetia crossing the river by boat: It is far away faster than going around the mountain chain. So… when you are ready we can help you with the boat”

  
After taking the breakfast Yuuri came back upstairs. He prepared a little package with one of his handmade pendants, his favourite one, the one with an aquamarine. He wrote ‘In case you feel lonely’ on the envelope. After, he put it with the rest of Viktor’s belongings and kissed the wood box.

  
\- “ _Viktor servat cor tuum_ ”

  
The box opened and absorbed all the paraphernalia inside it. Yuuri finished taking the rest of his own stuff, took the magic box and woke up the dog.

  
\- “I’m sorry Vikchan, we should go, you will sleep later”

  
Both of them went downstairs and said goodbye to Leo and Guang Hong. They prepared a basket with a bundle of food and drink for the trip, Yuuri would be eternally grateful for that.

  
\- “I hope you have the wind in your favour” (G)

  
\- “Have a nice trip my friends!” (L)

  
A small boat was waiting for them, on a little jetty near the house. Yuuri looked back one last time, thinking that this would be a good place to live, quiet, beautiful, hidden, like a special secret to share only between two persons. He got on the boat, followed by the poddle.

  
\- “Thank you so much for everything. I hope I can pay you a visit on my return trip”

  
He would have loved to use “we” instead of “I”, but in fact he didn’t know if Viktor would prefer to stay on the North lands. Making the reverse trip alone was something that scared him, but he didn’t want to think too much about it. Guang Hong closed his hands like if he was praying and muttered something unintelligible, immediately the boat started to move. Yuuri realized that he still needed to learn a lot about magic and hoped that this crazy travel helped him to improve his knowledge.

  
The journey through the river was quite pleasant. At the beginning, they passed along several meadows, the birds were signing and the sun timidly covered the river. But as soon as the noon was over, the landscape and the weather changed. The river flowed between a dense and cold forest. Yuuri wrapped himself inside his cloak and opened the basket to took some meat buns and sweet wine. That helped him to warm himself, but after a couple of hours he was completely drunk. At that time, the sun was hiding between the hills. The boat staggered when Viktor came back.

  
\- “Woaahhhh!”

  
\- “Careful Yuuri!” – Viktor catched Yuuri avoiding the disaster.

  
\- “Viktooooor!!!” – Yuuri hugged Viktor.

  
\- “You drank too much of that homemade wine”- Viktor laughed.

  
\- “Viktor, we are together on this, you are not alone! We will fix this, and we will find whatever happens with your heart. I want to become a great sorcerer to help you!!! Be my wizardry teacher Viktor!”- Yuuri eyes sparkled.

  
Viktor squeezed Yuuri until he shrinked to became a piglet. The little pig was really excited running around in circles. Viktor took it gently to avoid he fell from the boat.

  
\- “Yuuri, you never fail to surprise me.”

 


	4. ‘In which Yuuri meet Eros’

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri will meet another sorcering living legend, but a very different one...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this new chapter! I'm sorry for the delay but real life is being a bit hard lately for me x_x. I think we are more or less in the middle of this magical adventure. Please enjoy it =).
> 
> Again thanks to @apodoll_bjd for this wonderful fanart (I added also one to chapter 2 in case you want to take a look). I love Chris and Masumi, they are the perfect couple <3

\- “Are you sure? Is he?” – the blonde guy asked sceptic.

\- “I think so, he was even able to open the box with the kiss spell and… somehow I can feel it”

\- “But for what I remember of him he was quite… ordinary, I don’t know if he suits you deary” – the mysterious guy was visibly disappointed.

\- “I didn’t chose him, it was my heart, you know” – Viktor touched unconsciously his aquamarine necklace. 

\- “Ah Viktor, you are ALWAYS so dramatic…”

\- “It’s late, go away please, he will not like to show you his butt”

\- “Is this the way you treat all your friends? Such a rude wizard you are”

\- “Who is being dramatic now? Please be kind with him, I beg you”

\- “I’m jealous, I’m going to miss you”

\- “Me too”

\- “That’s not true!” – he said while leaving the room.

Yuuri woke up and found Viktor smiling as usual. He started to be used to that daily warm welcome.

\- “Good morning Yuu~ri! \\(*^♡^*)/”

\- “Good morning Viktor”- Yuuri smiled, Viktor energy was contagious.

\- “Are you feeling better? You was a drunk piglet for a while”

\- “Ah, really???” – Yuuri blushed – “I suppose it was cold and I drank a bit too much”

\- “In that case, you must dress properly! You can ask Chris for warmer clothes”

\- “Chris?”

\- “My friend, you will meet him later”

\- “Ah…” – Yuuri paid attention to Viktor’s neck, he was happy to found his necklace around it.

\- “Yuuri, this will be our last stop in a house before arriving to the Northern mountains, so please take your time, rest, go shopping, do everything you consider necessary. Also… keep in mind that from now on, each step will lead us to longer days and shorter nights” – Viktor held Yuuri’s hands firmly.

Yuuri understood what that meant, he will be able to see Viktor less frequently. He was trying to control himself but his vision started to be blurry. Finally Viktor hugged him.

\- “Yuuri…don’t worry, even if we are apart, my heart will always be with you” – Viktor mumbled.

Yuuri was able to hug Viktor back only for a few seconds before he changed again into his dog form. He felt so miserable but was not able to continue crying because the cute animal that was looking at him with big puppy eyes. At least he was not alone.  
This time he wasn’t feeling cold, the room was warm. Yuuri looked around and found a big fireplace opposite to the bed. The decoration was quite overloaded; it had nothing to do with the modest room of Leo and Guang Hong’s home. Here, velvet maroon curtains were covering a big window, the wallpaper was full of odd motifs, and a majestic chandelier lamp hung in the middle of the room. It had a lot of luxurious elements that mixed together turning out into a really strange and tasteless combination. At least the bed was big and really comfortable.

Yuuri opened the curtains, the city was already in movement. The outlook was full of beautiful white houses with wood planks and dark roofs. People went from one place to another walking through the stone pavement like if they were late. Yuuri took his clothes from the magical box just like he did the day before, and opened the door determined to look for something to have a breakfast. The problem was that behind the door he found a black space with nothing else below. He was able to see several doors floating around that supposedly leaded to other rooms. He was not sure if that was real magic or just a delusion. Yuuri went back to the room to take his staff. 

\- “Ilumina mirabilis!”

The light was gobbled down inside the darkness without lighting up the big hole. Yuuri tried again.

\- “Ilumina mirabilis! Ilumina mirabilis!”

\- “Hey, hey little cake, be quiet, my boys are trying to sleep”

From the nowhere a tall curly blonde man appeared. He was strangely dressed, with a really tight black leather pants and a widely opened white shirt. His outfit left little to the imagination.

\- “You… you are Christophe Giacometti!!!??” 

\- “Yes, and you are Yuuri Katsuki, we can skip the introductions”

Yuuri was shocked, Christophe Giacometti was also a living legend of the sorcery. He never imagined that he would see him with that kind of clothes and in a place like that.

\- “But…I thought you lived at the Oriental palace, you were proclaimed Royal Autumn sorcerer a couple of years ago, didn’t you?”

\- “Oh yes, but the bureaucracy and all those old wizards are really boring, so I spend my free time on funnier business” – Chris’ depraved smile made Yuuri shake.

\- “Business?”

\- “Didn’t you realize that this is a really special place? I built all the magic of this house. It is known as the ‘Maison de souhaits’ or ‘The house of the desires’. I will show you how it works. Just close your eyes and imagine in which place you would like to be now”

Yuuri closed his eyes obediently. He didn’t have something really specific on mind, but he started to feel a pleasant breeze. When he opened the eyes, he was in a totally different room. The walls were white, no paper wall on them now. The window was covered by a light cream curtains. Outside, Yuuri was able to see a sunny meadow full of flowers. There were really few and simple furniture there; just a little table and a bed, nothing else. On the bed Viktor was peacefully sleeping, covered by soft and clear sheets, with a curly big poodle on his feet. The silver hair was falling gracefully on his face, bobbed by the soft air that came from the window. The sunlight made that his eyelashes and some of his hair strands looked almost gold. Yuuri astonished thought that he should keep that moment on his mind forever, just in case it happens never more. He was about to touch Viktor’s face when Chris interrupted.

\- “Oh please, can’t you think about something a bit more exciting?” – he snapped his fingers a bit annoyed.

The room changed again, this time it spun really fast around Yuuri. In fact, he started to feel dizzy with the whirlwind of colors and lights. When it stopped, the room was quite similar to the original one. Matchless and baroque decoration everywhere, but with an important and new element. This time Viktor was over the bed, completely naked. Some parts of his body were blushed in contrast with his skin, pale as porcelain. He was clearly hard and wet, and with no intention to hide himself. His eyes were closed halfway, calling Yuuri with desire. His hair was a bit messy, not organized as usual. Yuuri felt how his cheeks turned bright red and how his pants started to be a bit uncomfortable. Viktor, who was breathing with difficulties, opened his humid lips to say something when Yuuri came back to the real world.

\- “Stop stop stop!!!” – said moving his hands like if he was trying to remove the spell from the air.

\- “You are overreacting, don’t you?”- Chris looked at him malicious – “If you want I can ask one of my boys to help you with that, they can take the appearance of whoever you want. Don’t worry, what happens here stays here, that’s what our customers like the most” – his smile was clearly perverse.

\- “Wh…what are you talking about?? I just wanted to get out of here to take a breakfast!” – Yuuri was still flushed. 

\- “Ok ok”- Chris laughed – “But take at least a shower, I will show you where the bathroom is”

Yuuri followed Chris inside the darkness and found that just after some steps, the black fog disappeared. They were on the second floor of a big and gleaming house, all seemed to be really expensive. Chris stopped when they reached the first floor.

\- “Here’s the bathroom, take your time”- he said still with a wicked smile- “I will wait you in the living room, downstairs” -before leaving he softly slapped Yuuri on his butt.

Yuuri went inside the bathroom and closed the door quickly, breathing relieved, that was weird. He understood what kind of place it was, he was not scared about it but about the things he discovered about himself. He was almost 24 years old and never thought seriously about his sexuality or about sex further tan onanism. He was not able to remove the image of Viktor of his mind, both of them, and verified that he was able to come really fast thinking about him. He felt guilty because it was not the first time ever, but probably the first one doing it consciously and after meeting him closely in person. It was also his first time feeling that kind of intense fire inside him and his first time thinking about the possibility of being attracted to boys. He was not sure about that last point; maybe he only liked Viktor and nobody else. He was idolizing him so many years that he probably developed a strange and utopic love for him. He never felt in that way about Phichit, and he had saw him several times naked around the room. What happened that day was totally different to anything else and made him think about a lot of things that he was missing until now. The shower helped him to fix his ideas.

Once he had finished he descended the big staircase. Yuuri felt a bit lost but he started to hear someone laughing, so he followed the voices. He went over a long hall before reaching the living room. There was Chris clearly flirting with a taller and attractive guy that was setting the table. Yuuri was about to enter when they started to kiss each other passionately. He waited a bit on the door trying not to look the scene.

\- “Oh Yuuri, you are there! Come on, the eggs will get cold”

Yuuri walked shyly inside the room to take a seat, he didn’t know if that remark had a double-dealing or not.

\- “Masumi, mon chéri, could you please excuse us? We need to talk about some private issues”- Chris put a pouty face.

\- “No problem, see you later. And welcome to ‘Maison de souhaits’ Mr. Katsuki”

\- “T...thank you!” – Yuuri bowed anxiously.

Masumi left the living room and Yuuri seat quickly, all the food looked delicious. There were eggs, milk, bread, jam, chocolate, different kinds of cakes… it was a banquet.

\- “Is he one of your boys?” - Yuuri felt brave enough to ask.

\- “Of course not!”- he was feignedly offended – “he is MY boy, the one who takes care of all of this when I’m not at home”

\- “So…you are together?” – he drunk a bit of milk.

\- “Not exactly that but…is not your business, or maybe now you prefer him rather than Viktor?”

\- “I know nothing about Masumi and I know almost nothing about Viktor, probably you know more about him than me”

\- “Well, maybe… we have shared A LOT of experiences together… but you can ask, I’m sure he has no secrets for you”

\- “Ok, let’s start… he visited this place frequently?”

\- “Are you jealous?” – again a spiteful expression appeared on his face.

\- “No, I just want to know how he really is! Does he like boys? What’s his favourite dish? Which kind problems he has?”

\- “He likes hot boys, he loves shashlik and for the third one is difficult to say. He’s always hiding his true self behind that stupid smile. And I’m not the one who stole his heart, you know?”

\- “Do you know something about what happened with his heart?”

\- “Oh yes, but I’m not sure if you want to know it” – his smile was even more malicious than before.

\- “Of…of course I want!”- Yuuri voice didn’t sound very convincing. 

\- “You remember last year Valentine’s competition? You were making an exhibition with Eros as a topic I guess”

Yuuri remembered well. He was preparing his costume night and day with the help of Miss Nishigori and Phichit. He wanted to shine, he wanted to be noticed by Viktor, who was part of the jury that day, it was his chance to shake his hand and to speak with him. They were hand sewing over the black outfit tons of brilliant ice crystals, making reference to Viktor’s preferred element. Phichit complained a lot, he broke several of them during the process. To prepare the magical program was not easier, his skills were limited so he gave his best on the aesthetic part. He used some of the beautiful frozen spells that were used by Viktor on his debut as a Prince of the Winter when he was a teenager. Because Eros is usually hot and passionate, but it could be also painful and heartbreaking as the ice. His punctuation was not bad but he didn’t win the first place neither: mediocre as usual. People prefer beautiful and complicated flowering magic. He put a lot of effort and felt quite deceived. He was sad, walking with the head bowed, but when he was almost out of the venue he crossed with Viktor. He stopped, looking at him intensely with his clear blue eyes, it was quite impressive to see him so close. Yuuri was blocked, in fact he felt that his heart stopped for few seconds just to start moving again twice as strong as before. Viktor was about to speak, but Yuuri ran away full of shame. He had no courage to fulfil his dream, not as a loser. 

\- “That day you moved Viktor so much. He said that you have a very special bright that reminds him his young years as a sorcerer” – Chris continued – “But someone took advantage of that contest to stole his heart. He didn’t realize until apathy overtook him. He was sick for several months until he started to construct his own heart with a bit of here and there, taking part of the essence of other people with dark magic, but that’s clearly not enough. He tried to investigate the people that was there that day”

\- “And he found who was the one who stole his heart?”

\- “Yes, the purpose is not clear yet, but recently he tied up loose ends and he found the guilty”

\- “Really? Who?”

\- “You, little pig”

Yuuri suffered a strong stabbing pain on his chest. Cold as ice tears ran through his cheeks. Certainly, he would have preferred not to know it.


End file.
